Allister slams ‘calculated insult’ in plan for centenary
THE events announced by the Stormont Speaker to mark the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland are “uninspired”, an MLA has said.
Alex Maskey wrote to all MLAS outlining details of the official events marking 100 years since the partition of Ireland.
The programme was agreed by all five political parties on the Assembly Commission.
The events include lectures, social media initiatives, an open day, exhibitions and outreach activities.
Mr Maskey said: “While the different views on the centenaries in 2021 have to be respected, there is no doubting that the events they mark shaped our politics and our society for the decades which followed.
“They also represent 100 years of local parliamentary and political institutions and should be taken as an opportunity to allow us to look forward.
“Throughout the decade of centenaries, the Assembly Commission has used a process and a set of principles to agree how all of those historic anniversaries were officially marked by the Assembly. This approach ensured that they were marked with
cross-party support and without controversy.”
He added: “While I acknowledge that members and parties may have had their own preferences if they were making their own decisions, given the differing views that exist, I think it is extremely positive that all five parties on the Assembly Commission have agreed this programme and I look forward to seeing it delivered in the months to come.”
However TUV leader Jim Allister has described plans to include a meeting of the North/ South Inter-parliamentary Association in the programme of events as “a calculated insult”.
“This anniversary should have been marked by events which capture the imagination of the public. That is sadly not the case with the uninspired programme announced today,” Mr Allister.
“Coming off the back of a budget announced by the Executive which doesn’t contain a penny to mark the centenary unionists will be left wondering what Stormont delivers for them.
“Can anyone think of another country in the world which would not see a significant celebration at its parliament or assembly to mark the centenary of the state’s birth?” he added.